Ask George

George Putnam, one of the country's leading turnaround and distressed investing professionals, answers your investing questions. This is your chance to find out everything you wanted to know--but were afraid to ask--about turnaround investing.

Does the poor performance of the stock market in May indicate that the U.S. is headed for a new recession?

June 15, 2012

This question comes up frequently when the market takes a dip. While it is true that the stock market does sometimes anticipate a recession, the market is far from an accurate economic indicator. As the Nobel prizewinning economist Paul Samuelson once said, “The stock market has predicted nine of the last five recessions.” In fact, in the last few days as I was preparing to write this, the market has already staged a sharp turnaround. Bottom line: don’t try to time the market!

Learn George Putnam's Turnaround Secrets

Turnaround Investing Blog

With nearly $180 billion in assets under management, “activist” investment funds have become a powerful force in the capital markets: Nearly 40% of companies in the S&P 500 attracted activist attention in recent years. According to Activist Insight, 320 companies in the U.S. experienced an activist campaign in just the first half of 2017; but who, exactly, are these activists, what are they after, and what role do they collectively serve?
Read More.

Market-Beating Profit: The 200+ Club

Turnaround stocks present a unique opportunity for savvy investors to buy in at bargain prices. Take a look at this list of just a few of our purchase recommendations that have realized a return rate of 200% or better:

* Bristow remains in our active portfolio (currently as a Hold), and 1,390% gain is as of 7/19/17.

Five Struggling Stocks That Will Turn Around

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Kiplinger points out that despite the post-election stock market surge, not all stocks have benefited from the uptick: "More than 100 issues in the S&P 500 have fallen in price this year, including dozens that have slumped by more than 10%....Yet these stocks won’t all stay in the dumps forever. Some will mount a comeback in 2017, making it an opportune time to try to identify the best candidates."

Quoting George Putnam, Kiplinger details five value opportunities for the new year.